Ancient History: Topic Test 1

The investigation of Ancient Sites and Sources

Finding archaeological sites

Revealed via modern warfare, in ancient literature. Development of modern technology and recent scientific discoveries and techniques has also helped.

Excavation

The Grid System, open-area excavation and excavation tools.

Recording

Organizing the collection of all artifacts and using a systematic method of naming and recording.

Analysis

Examining artifacts, structures, and data to draw conclusions. Archaeologists establish dates via archeaological and scientific dating.

Interpretation

Data found during the analysis is used to draw conclusions about the site and it’s occupants, and even to construct a narrative of its history. Includes conclusions about significant developments, changes to the site over time and possible reasons for the changes.

Box-grid method

Pioneered by Sir Mortimer Wheeler. Studies the vertical dimension of a site by revealing the time sequence in the layers exposed. Archaeologists use the coordinates of each grid to record the location of the finds on a map, or a plan of the site.

Baulk

A strip or wall of earth left between trenches to enable study of the complete stratigraphy of a site.

Open Area excavation

Uncovering the whole site layer by layer. The emphasis is on understanding the relationships between the things found in each layer or stratum.

Source and Evidence

A source is anything that has survived from the past and evidence is information gained from the interrogation of sources when it is used to reconstruct an aspect of the past.